In the electrical power distribution industry, as well as other industries, large equipment cabinets are provided containing electrical components that are electrically interconnected to other equipment in the cabinet. Some of these components, such as large circuit breakers, must be able to be temporarily disconnected and removed or simply disconnected and left in place. Such components are usually arranged on rails within the equipment cabinet which permit the component to slide into the equipment cabinet for electrical mating and out of the equipment cabinet for removal. For example, low voltage circuit breakers which handle up to about 600 volts AC and up to about 4000 amperes, are arranged to slide along the rails and are positionable in three distinct positions. In the first position the circuit breaker is within the equipment cabinet but not electrically mated. In the second position secondary contacts, which are used for control functions, are mated but the primary power contacts are spaced from their mating contacts, in the present example, a distance of 1.625 inches. And in the third position both the secondary and primary contact are mated. These three positions are known in the industry as the disconnect position, test position, and connect position, respectively. As the circuit breaker is moved along the rails from the second to third positions, The secondary contacts must remain mated. To accomplish this one half of the secondary contact connector which is attached to the equipment cabinet has elongated contacts that extend along the direction of travel a distance greater than the 1.625 inches so that when the circuit breaker is in the test position the contacts of the connector attached to the circuit breaker are in engagement with respective ones of the elongated contacts. As the circuit breaker is moved toward and into its connect position, these secondary contacts slide along the elongated contacts and remain mated. These secondary contacts must be able to carry electrical loads of up to 600 volts AC or DC and current levels of up to 10 amperes. Therefore, the elongated secondary contacts are relatively large having long contacting surfaces which are usually silver plated. Such contacts are costly to manufacture and require substantial room within the equipment cabinet.
What is needed is a secondary connector having conventional length secondary contacts that will mate when the circuit breaker is moved from its disconnect position into its test position, and will remain mated while the circuit breaker is further moved into its connect position. Conversely, the secondary contacts must remain mated while the connector is moved from its connect position back into its test position, and should break contact when the circuit breaker is further moved from its test position to its disconnect position.